Extruded linseed and rapeseed both influenced fatty acid composition of total lipids and their polar and neutral fractions in longissimus thoracis and semitendinosus muscles of finishing Normand cows

The effects of extruded linseed and rapeseed on lipids and FA composition of total, polar and neutral lipids of longissimus thoracis (LT) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles were investigated in 21 Normand cull cows. Animals were assigned in a 100d finishing period to straw (30%) and concentrate (70%) based (C) or the same diet supplemented with linseed (L) or with rapeseed (66%) plus linseed (33%) (RL). Beef polar and neutral lipids were purified by liquid chromatography and their FA analysed by GLC. Trans and cis 18:1, purified by HPLC from total FA methyl esters, were analysed by GLC–MS. L and LR diets did not increase beef lipid deposition, but had modified FA composition of both LT and ST muscles in favouring deposition of 18:3n-3 and 9cis,11tr 18:2 (CLA), mainly to the detriment of 18:1?9 cis (neutral lipids) and 18:2n-6 (polar lipids). However, they did not favour deposition of LC n-3 PUFA in the two muscles, but had increased deposition of trans 18:1 significantly, especially of ?13tr to ?16tr isoforms to the detriment of ?10tr 18:1 (L diet) and of ?11tr 18:1 (RL diet).     

Asymptotic Properties of a Probabilistic‐Statistical Model of Particle Classification in Hydrocyclones

The peculiarities of practical implementation of a probabilistic‐statistical model for a hydrodynamic stage of particle classification process of liquid‐solid polydisperse systems in cylinder‐conic hydrocyclones of small size have been investigated. Within reasonable assumptions, stationary solutions of the Fokker‐Planck‐Kolmogorov kinetic equation were obtained for the considered separation process. In order to describe changes in characteristics of suspension separation in hydrocyclones it was proposed to use stationary distributions, which parameters depend not only on hydraulic and dynamic features of flows inside an apparatus, but also are determined by relative magnitudes of the impact of particle classification and centrifugal forces in comparison with the intensity of random perturbations.     

Modeling the recovery patterns from solid phase extraction purification of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside,p-coumaric acid glucoside,and ferulic acid glucoside from microwave-assisted flaxseed extracts

Flaxseed extracts obtained by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were cleaned of leftover salts from hydrolysis by solid phase extraction (SPE). The SPE set up was affordable, non-automated and vacuum-driven. The recovery patterns of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), p-coumaric acid glucoside (PCouAG), and ferulic acid glucoside (FerAG) were modeled in two stages using regression procedures (p < 0.05). At stage one, the recovery patterns were predicted as a function of SPE eluent concentration in ethanol (10–50%). At stage two, the accuracy of the predictions was increased by enlarging the SPE eluent regressor's range (0–100% ethanol in water) and arranging the solvent system into three practical elution groups. The groups 1, 2 and 3 reflected the major loss, the major recovery and the minor loss of SDG, respectively. Second degree polynomial regression models were fitted for accurately predicting the recoveries of compounds. Microwave-assisted extracts obtained from 0.6 and 1.5 g defatted flaxseed meal were purified; the total SDG recoveries from the SPE funnel were 97.8 and 99.8%; and the SDG amounts obtained were 8.54 and 20 mg, respectively. The HPLC analysis of eluates pooled into practical groups allows for significant reductions in HPLC analysis time and solvent consumption which could have a positive impact on future purification studies. The results of this study allow for designing simplified, efficient and economical pilot scale studies for the purification of SDG from flaxseed extracts.     

Electrochemical study on new polymer composite for zinc corrosion protection

Galvanostatic electrodeposition mode was employed for the synthesis of new polyaniline and polypyrrole-based composite coatings (PANI/PPY) onto pure zinc electrode. Potentiodynamic polarization, open circuit potential measurements and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were employed to assess the ability of these composite coatings to provide an effective barrier to corrosion in chloride environment. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observations were employed to characterize the structure and morphology of the modified electrodes. The coatings deposited galvanostatically at lower current density showed the best quality in terms of protection ability towards aggressive medium. It was found that the new PANI/PPY composite coatings had significantly better properties than single polymer coatings regarding the corrosion protection.     

Dual detection biosensor based on porous silicon substrate

Due to the high surface-to-volume ratio (hundreds of m²/cm³) porous silicon became during the last years a good candidate material as substrate for biosensor application. Moreover, the versatility of surface chemistry allows different functionalization approaches and large number of molecules to be captured on well-defined areas. This paper reports a dual detection method for protein recognition processes developed on different nanostructured porous silicon (PS) substrates, based on using two complementary spectroscopic techniques: fluorescence and electrochemical impedance. The structures were tested for biomolecular recognition – biotin–strepavidin couples – in order to achieve an optimum surface for protein's immobilizations. Comparative analyses of the attachment degree and preservation of the biomolecules activity on the porous silicon surfaces and silicon slides are also described.     

Interactions of different polyphenols with bovine serum albumin using fluorescence quenching and molecular docking

Polyphenols are responsible for the major organoleptic characteristics of plant-derived foods and beverages. Here, we investigated the binding of several polyphenols to bovine serum albumin (BSA) at pH 7.5 and 25 °C: catechins [(−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate], flavones (kaempferol, kaempferol-3-glucoside, quercetin, naringenin) and hydroxycinnamic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid). Fluorescence emission spectrometry and molecular docking were applied to compare experimentally determined binding parameters with molecular modelling. Among these polyphenols, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate showed the highest Stern–Volmer modified quenching constant, followed by (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Similarly, (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate had the highest effect on the Circular Dichroic spectrum of BSA, while the changes induced by other polyphenols were negligible. Molecular docking predicted high binding energies for (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate for the binding site on BSA near Trp213. Our data reveal that the polyphenol structures significantly affect the binding process: the binding affinity generally decreases with glycosylation and reduced numbers of hydroxyl groups on the second aromatic ring.     

Paper‐Derived Bioactive Glass Tape

Porous bioactive glass (BaG) structures were manufactured applying novel preceramic paper process. Preceramic papers were produced for aqueous suspensions loaded with different contents of pulp fiber and BaG filler. Pressure loading was applied in order to increase the packing density in the paper sheets. The paper sheets were sintered at 630 °C for 1 h. The porous glass–ceramic specimens were characterized for density, porosity, composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties. A pronounced volumetric shrinkage was observed, but no surface flaws or inhomogeneous areas were detected. The mechanical strength using the ball on three balls test and elastic modulus of sintered specimens vary between 21 and 33 MPa and 0.30–0.85 GPa, respectively.